Anti-fatty liver agent

ABSTRACT

An anti-fatty liver agent containing a cell and/or a culture of the lactic acid bacterium  Latobacillus gasseri  as an active ingredient is provided. Also disclosed is a pharmaceutical agent having an anti-fatty liver activity or an anti-fatty liver beverage or food containing a cell and/or a culture of the lactic acid bacterium  Latobacillus gasseri  as an active ingredient. Methods of treating fatty liver in a subject by administering a cell and/or a culture of the lactic acid bacterium  Latobacillus gasseri  are also provided.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 12/375,097 filed on Dec. 10, 2009, which is a National Stage of PCT/JP2007/000791 filed on Jul. 24, 2007, which claims foreign priority to Japanese Application No. 2006-201733 filed on Jul. 25, 2006. The entire contents of each of the above applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an anti-fatty liver agent containing a culture and/or a bacterial body obtained by cultivating a lactic acid bacterium belonging to Lactobacillus gasseri as an active ingredient. The present invention also relates to a pharmaceutical agent having an anti-fatty liver activity containing a culture and/or a bacterial body obtained by cultivating a lactic acid bacterium belonging to Lactobacillus gasseri as an active ingredient. The present invention further relates to an anti-fatty liver beverage/food containing a culture and/or a bacterial body obtained by cultivating a lactic acid bacterium belonging to Lactobacillus gasseri as an active ingredient.

BACKGROUND ART

Fatty liver refers to a state where fat has excessively accumulated in liver (hepatocyte). With fat accumulation, various symptoms such as anorexia, weight loss, and fatigue appear. The mechanism of fatty liver development remains unknown, but the mechanism has been considered to be as follows on the basis of previous researches. In other words, the liver serves a crucial role in the metabolism and transfer of fat and fat balance in the liver is maintained at a constant equilibrium state in normal conditions. Liver neutral fat is derived from fatty acids in chylomicron from meal, free fatty acids mobilized from peripheral fat tissues, and fatty acids freshly synthesized in the liver. One part of fatty acids, which were thus freshly synthesized in the liver or transferred to the liver, is subject to oxidative destruction in the liver. Another part of fatty acids is esterified in a liver microsome and converted to a neutral fat. The neutral fat is bound to protein and secreted into bloodstream in a form of lipoprotein. Liver neutral fat is maintained at an equilibrium state with metabolic turnover in a relatively rapid manner. However, if changes occur, which disturb the equilibrium in the liver, that is, cause the disequilibrium between the production and utilization amounts of neutral fat in the liver, fatty liver develops. In theory, the causes of fatty liver are considered as follows: increased fat synthesis in the liver; decreased fatty acid oxidation in the liver; increased fat mobilization from deposit fat to the liver; and decreased fat transfer from the liver to the peripheral. As the causes of those abnormalities, there are given a number of causes such as: oxygen deficiency due to anemia gravis, circulatory disorder, etc.; endocrinopathy due to Graves' disease, etc.; metabolic disease due to child constitution, etc.; pancreatic disease; malnutrition; exogenous toxic agents or chemicals due to alcohol, phosphorus, mushroom poison, etc.; endogenous toxic agents due to chronic infection, etc.; fat and carbohydrate meal property; and small intestine bypass surgery. Fatty liver has been also considered as a factor of severe diseases such as chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis, and hence the treatment and prevention of the fatty liver has been a critical issue.

With respect to a method of preventing and treating fatty liver, for example, the following technologies have been known: a liver fat accumulation inhibitory composition characterized by containing an effective amount of conjugated diene linoleic acids together with a carrier for medicinal preparations or foods (for example, Patent Document 1); a fat and oil composition characterized by mixing fat and oil containing highly unsaturated fatty acids with egg yolk lipid containing about 25 to about 70% by weight of phospholipid (for example, Patent Document 2); a composition containing at least one kind of amino acids having a glucagon secreting activity, at least one kind of xanthine derivatives, and at least one kind of thiamine compounds (for example, Patent Document 3); a fraction of crude soybean lecithin having a function to suppress synthesis of neutral fat in liver, obtained by fractionating a crude soybean lecithin produced in the production process of fat and oil from soybean using organic solvents, adsorbents, ion-exchange resins, and the like, and a beverage/food, an animal feed, or a pharmaceutical agent obtained by mixing a known raw material with the crude soybean lecithin fraction (for example, Patent Document 4); a lipid metabolism improving agent and a hepatic disorder suppressing agent containing an extract of Phyllanthus niruri extracted with organic solvents or water as an active ingredient (for example, Patent Document 5); an agent for suppressing lipid increase containing xyloglucan as an active ingredient (for example, Patent Document 6); a composition, migrating from buckwheat flour to a liquid layer and separated in a mixture of the buckwheat flour and water (for example, Patent Document 7); an improver for lipid metabolism containing α-curcumene which is a bisabolane-type sesquiterpenoid isolated from Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb. as an active ingredient (for example, Patent Document 8); a fatty liver suppressing agent containing one or two or more kinds of triglycerides selected from tristearin, 1-stearyldipalmitin, 2-stearyldipalmitin, 1-palmitodistearin, and 2-palmitodistearin as an active ingredient (for example, Patent Document 9); an improver for liver function containing docosahexaenoic acid (referred to as DHA) as an active ingredient (for example, Patent Document 10); and an alcoholic fat liver suppresser containing hemicellulose obtained by removing starch, protein, and the like from corn wheat bran and extracting the residual part with an alkali and/or partially decomposed product of hemicellulose obtained by further treating the hemicellulose with xylanase as an active ingredient (for example, Patent Document 11). However, an effective method for prevention and treatment of fatty liver has not been established yet, a novel active ingredient with safety and high effectiveness and a composition containing the ingredient, and further a novel food and pharmaceutical agent using the ingredient and the composition have been desired.

For Lactobacillus gasseri which is a lactic acid bacterium, for example, the findings on the following have been obtained: an immunopotentiating agent (for example, Patent Document 12); an agent for preventing infection with pathogen (for example, Patent Document 13); an agent for preventing serum cholesterol level from increasing (for example, Patent Document 14); an antioxidant (for example, Patent Document 15); an agent for prevention, improvement, and treatment of diabetic complication (for example, Patent Document 16); and a medicine for preventing and treating inflammatory intestinal disease and allergic intestinal syndrome (for example, Patent Document 17). Patents for Lactobacillus gasseri have been published, but its influences on liver function and tissue characteristics have not been known at all.

-   Patent Document 1: JP 11-79987 A -   Patent Document 2: JP 10-237480 A -   Patent Document 3: JP 10-158170 A -   Patent Document 4: JP 10-84879 A -   Patent Document 5: JP 9-241176 A -   Patent Document 6: JP 9-224608 A -   Patent Document 7: JP 9-183735 A -   Patent Document 8: JP 7-149628 A -   Patent Document 9: JP 6-279278 A -   Patent Document 10: JP 5-339154 A -   Patent Document 11: JP 5-43470 A -   Patent Document 12: JP 2006-69993 A -   Patent Document 13: JP 2005-225841 A -   Patent Document 14: JP 2003-306436 A -   Patent Document 15: JP 2003-253262 A -   Patent Document 16: JP 2003-252770 A -   Patent Document 17: JP 2003-95963 A

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problem to be Solved by the Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide an anti-fatty liver agent having functions for prevention, improvement, and treatment of fatty liver, a pharmaceutical agent having an anti-fatty liver activity, and an anti-fatty liver beverage/food.

Means for Solving the Problems

The inventors of the present invention have studied a variety of fermented milk. As a result, the inventors have found that a culture and a bacterial body of a lactic acid bacterium isolated from a fermented food and a lactic acid bacterium derived from human, inter alia, a lactic acid bacterium belonging to Lactobacillus gasseri gives the inhibition of fatty liver formation, and thus succeeded in solving the above-mentioned problems.

In other words, the present invention relates to an anti-fatty liver agent containing a bacterial body and a culture obtained by cultivating a lactic acid bacterium belonging to Lactobacillus gasseri as an active ingredient. The present invention further relates to a pharmaceutical agent having an anti-fatty liver activity and an anti-fatty liver beverage/food, containing a bacterial body and a culture obtained by cultivating a lactic acid bacterium belonging to Lactobacillus gasseri as an active ingredient.

Effects of the Invention

According to the present invention, there can be provided the anti-fatty liver agent, the pharmaceutical agent having an anti-fatty liver activity, and the anti-fatty liver beverage/food, containing a culture and/or a bacterial body obtained by cultivating a lactic acid bacterium belonging to Lactobacillus gasseri as an active ingredient. The anti-fatty liver agent of the present invention has extremely low toxicity and an adverse side effect. Therefore, it is particularly useful as a food material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a graph showing the effect of Lactobacillus gasseri (LG) on the level of neutral lipid (TG) measured in the livers of mice fed a high fat diet (HFD).

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems. The inventors of the present invention, in screening a targeted lactic acid bacterium, has newly established criteria as described below and selected a strain which meets the purpose. In other words, the inventors have established the following conditions, for a number of lactic acid bacteria derived from a fermented food and human, such as: having high gastric acid resistance; growing well in low pH conditions; suppressing the elevation of serum cholesterol level; exhibiting high colonization characteristics to human intestine; exhibiting affinity to human intestinal cells; having bile acid resistance; having cholesterol adsorptivity; having bile acid adsorptivity; and having high survivability as well as excellent flavors and physical properties in food application. The inventors have intensively studied the selection for a bacterial strain based on the above conditions. No bacterial strain of Lactobacillus gasseri satisfying such conditions had been known yet.

As a result of screening under the above conditions, the following bacterial strains were able to be selected as bacterial strains which met those conditions. Those bacterial strains have been deposited to the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology under the following deposit numbers.

That is, the strains include Lactobacillus gasseri SBT10801 (FERM P-18137), Lactobacillus gasseri SBT1703 (FERM P-17785), Lactobacillus gasseri SBT10241 (FERM P-17786), Lactobacillus gasseriSBT0274 (FERMP-17784), Lactobacillus gasseri SBT10239 (FERM P-16639), and Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 (FERM P-15535).

Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 (FERM BP-15535) was deposited under the terms of the Budapest Treaty with International Patent Organism Depository, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, address: AIST Tsukuba Central 6, 1-1, Higashi 1-Chome, Tsukubashi, Ibaraki-ken, 305-8566 JAPAN, on Mar. 27, 1996, under accession number FERM BP-0953, formerly under FERM BP-15535. Lactobacillus gasseri SBT0274 (FERM BP-17784) was deposited under the terms of the Budapest Treaty with National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, address: AIST Tsukuba Central 6, 1-1, Higashi 1-Chome, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken, 305-8566 JAPAN, on Mar. 15, 2000, under accession number FERM BP-11 039, formerly under FERM BP-17784.

In addition, those bacterial strains have a high affinity to human intestinal cells. In oral administration, the strains can be delivered alive into the intestine and be resident in the intestine for extended periods. Further, in the present invention, any strain other than the deposited strains as described above may be also used as long as the strain is a bacterial strain of Lactobacillus gasseri separated from human and a fermented food and exhibits the above-mentioned activity.

Then, there is given a method of cultivating those lactic acid bacteria. As a medium for Lactobacillus gasseri of the present invention, a variety of media can be utilized, such as a milk medium or a medium containing a milk constituent, or a semi-synthetic medium without the milk constituent. The example of such a medium may include a reduced skim milk medium obtained by reducing and heat-sterilizing skim milk. The cultivation is performed with static cultivation or neutralizing cultivation in which a pH is adjusted to a constant value. However, the cultivation method is not particularly limited thereto as long as the method satisfies the condition in which the bacteria grow up well.

In the present invention, there is contained a culture and/or a bacterial body obtained as described above as an active ingredient. Further, dry powder may be contained as an active ingredient. It is preferred that those cultures and/or bacterial bodies be dried with lyophilization since drying can be performed without the degeneration of the bacterial bodies. However, a method involving the addition of heat such as spray drying may be also applied.

Then, it is desirable that those active ingredients be orally ingested. Further, those powders can be mixed with appropriate excipients such as lactose and orally ingested in the forms of powders, tablets, pills, capsules, granules, or the like. The ingestion amount is appropriately determined in view of symptom, age, and the like of each of ingestion subjects individually. Generally, in the case of an adult, the ingestion amount may be 0.5 to 50 g as a dry substance per day per adult and ingested in several portions daily. Further, examples of the beverage/food in the present invention may include a yogurt produced with lactic acid fermentation using a bacterial strain of Lactobacillus gasseri as described above.

The anti-fatty liver agent, the pharmaceutical agent having an anti-fatty liver activity, and the anti-fatty liver beverage/food of the present invention, containing a culture and/or a bacterial body obtained by cultivating a lactic acid bacterium belonging to Lactobacillus gasseri as an active ingredient, can be expected to have prevention and improvement effects for fatty liver caused by a variety of factors, for example, fatty liver due to alcohol ingestion, fatty liver due to excess ingestion of energy, fatty liver due to the decrease of a fat degradation ability in liver, fatty liver due to the acceleration of fat synthesis in liver, and fatty liver due to the acceleration of fat absorption in small intestine. Accordingly, they can be utilized as a beverage/food material for maintaining and promoting health. Further, the decreased liver function due to fatty liver generally leads to significant decrease in physical fitness. Therefore, the prevention and improvement of fatty liver contributes to the maintenance, promotion, and retrieval of physical fitness, and hence the food composition of the present invention can be also utilized as a healthy food composition for the maintenance, promotion, and retrieval of physical fitness.

Hereinafter, as the lactic acid bacterium used in the present invention, a test example using Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 (FERM P-15535) (Hereinafter referred to as SBT2055) is described. In addition, the taxonomical properties of the bacterium and effects of the bacterium in vitro and in vivo are described in detail.

Test Example 1 Identification of Strain SBT2055

1. Taxonomical properties

(1) Form of bacterium

The results of anaerobic culture at 37° C. for 48 hours using a LBS agar plate medium are described.

Form: Bacillus

Size: 0.5 to 1×3 to 4 μm

Many of them chained each other.

(2) Gram stain: positive

(3) Morphology of colonies

Form: circle

Circumference: wave-like

Size: 2- to 3-mm in diameter

Color tone: white

Surface: smooth

(4) Sporulation: negative

(5) Gas production: none

(6) Motility: none

(7) Catalase activity: negative

(8) Coagulability of skim milk: coagulation

(9) Gelatin liquefaction: none

(10) Nitrate reductivity: none

(11) Production of indole: none

(12) Production of hydrogen sulfide: none

2. Fermentative Properties of Sugar

Results of fermentative properties of sugar determined by a commercially available kit for identifying bacteria (Api 50CH, BioMérieux) are described below.

Glycerol −

Erythritol −

D-arabinose −

L-arabinose +

Libose −

D-xylose −

L-xylose −

Adnitol −

β-methyl-D-xyloside −

Galactose +

D-glucose +

L-fluctose +

D-mannose +

L-sorbose −

Rhamnose −

Dulcitol −

Inositol −

Mannitol −

Sorbitol −

α-methyl-D-mannoside −

α-methyl-D-glucoside −

N-acetyl-glucosamine +

Amygdalin +

Arbutin +

Esculin +

Salicin +

Cellobiose +

Maltose +

Lactose +

Melibiose −

Saccharose +

Trehalose +

Inulin −

Melezitose −

D-raffinose −

Amidone −

Glycogen −

Xylitol −

β-gentiobiose +

D-turanose −

D-lyxose −

D-tagatose +

D-arabitol −

L-arabitol −

Gluconate −

2-keto-gluconate −

5-keto-gluconate −

(+ represents the case where fermentative property was found and − represents the case where no fermentative property was found)

The above taxonomical properties represent typical properties of Lactobacillus acidophilus complex.

3. Homology

An identification test was performed by a DNA homology test.

DNAs of a type strain of Lactobacillus, a test bacterium strain SBT2055, and Escherichia coli as a control described below were extracted and purified.

Test bacterium: strain SBT2055

Type strain: Lactobacillus acidophilus strain JCM1132

-   -   Lactobacillus crispatus strain JCM1185     -   Lactobacillus gallinarum strain JCM2011     -   Lactobacillus amylovorus strain JCM1126     -   Lactobacillus gasseri strain JCM1131     -   Lactobacillus johnsonii strain JCM2021     -   Escherichia coli

DNA homology between the strains SBT2055 was set to be 100% and DNA homology between the strain SBT2055 and Escherichia coli was set to be 0%. Under such a setting, DNA homology between the strain LG2055 and each of type strains was investigated using DNA hybridization method. As a result, the strain SBT2055 had a homology of 90% or more to Lactobacillus gasseri strain JCM1131, and hence the strain SBT2055 was identified as Lactobacillus gasseri.

Test Example 2 Intestinal Permeability and Intestinal Colonization Characteristics in Human

The starter of the strain SBT2055 was inoculated in an amount of 4% with respect to milk containing 9.5% solids-not-fat and 3.0% milk fat and fermented at 39° C. for 4 hours. Every day for 4 weeks, 42 healthy adult volunteers were allowed to ingest 100 g of the resulting fermented milk once daily and changes in enterobacteria were observed. During the test period, the evaluation was performed under free ingestion of meal except that the ingestion of foods, oligosaccharides, and chemicals affecting enterobacteria was prohibited. The strain SBT2055, which had not been detected before the test, was detected from all the subjects after 4 weeks. Accordingly, it has been found that the strain SBT2055 has high intestinal colonization characteristics.

Test Example 3 Preparation for Lactobacillus gasseri Skim Milk Culture

To stimulate the strain SBT2055, passage cultivation was performed in three generations or more at 37° C. for 16 hours in an 11.55% skim milk medium supplemented with 0.5% yeast extract (manufactured by Asahi Breweries, Ltd.) subjected to sterilization treatment at 115° C. for 20 minutes. The resultant was inoculated in an amount of 3% with respect to the same medium and cultivated at 37° C. for 16 hours. The resulting culture was lyophilized and then pulverized in a mortar.

Test Example 4 Measurement of Liver Lipid

Four-week-old SD rats were preliminarily fed for 1 week and then divided into a group which ingested a feed containing 20% Lactobacillus gasseri skim milk culture prepared in Test Example 3 (gasseri culture group) and a group which ingested a feed containing 20% skim milk (control group). Lipid content was set to be 10%. For the ingestion, pair-feeding started in the middle of feeding, and the rats were fed for 4 weeks under the conditions of free drinking, 12-hour light cycle, and room temperature of 21 to 23° C. After 4 weeks of ingestion, without a fasting period, the rats were sacrificed by collecting the blood from the aorta abdominalis to provide the liver and serum. According to the Folch method (Folch, J. Biol. Chem., 226, 497-506, 1957), liver lipid was extracted with a chloroform:methanol=2:1 (V/V) solution and washed with water, followed by the quantification of the amounts of triglyceride, phospholipid, and cholesterol. The triglyceride, phospholipid, and cholesterol were assayed using an acetyl acetone method (Triglyceride Test Wako, manufactured by Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.), a permanganate-incineration method (Phospholipid Test Wako, manufactured by Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.), an enzyme method (Detaminer TC555, manufactured by Kyowa Medex Co., Ltd.), respectively.

Table 1 shows the results of liver lipid measurement. For ingestion amount, final weight and defecation amount, there were found no differences between the groups. For liver weight, serum lipid, liver cholesterol, and liver phospholipid, there were also no differences between the groups. However, liver neutral lipid (TG) amount was significantly low in the gasseri culture group.

TABLE 1 Gasseri culture Control group group Neutral lipid 44.58 ± 5.21 25.63 ± 3.25 *p < 0.05 Cholesterol  2.92 ± 0.19  2.96 ± 0.27 Phospholipid 26.82 ± 0.48 27.71 ± 0.73

Test Example 5 Measurement of Liver Fatty Degeneration

Ten-week-old female C57BL/6J mice (Crj:CD-1 (ICR), manufactured by Charles River Laboratories Japan Inc.) were divided into 5 animals/group. Control group A was fed with a purified feed which was diet containing high fat and high sugar (manufactured by Oriental Yeast Co., ltd.), and control group B was fed with a feed obtained by adding 8% soybean oil as fat content to a normal mixed feed for a growth period from which fat was removed (AIN-93G: manufactured by Oriental Yeast Co., ltd.) (normal diet). The gasseri culture group was fed with a feed in which protein and carbohydrate portions of the purified feed which was diet containing high fat and high sugar as described above were replaced by Lactobacillus gasseri skim milk culture prepared in Test Example 3. Each of the groups was fed with a test feed or a control feed for 4 weeks. Following the fasting treatment for about 16 hours after the final day of feeding, the mice in each group were sacrificed by bleeding under ether anesthesia to excise their livers. After the formalin fixation of the liver, paraffin sections of the liver were made by a common method and subjected to hematoxylin and eosin staining followed by the search for pathological tissues using a light microscope. The degree of liver fatty degeneration was graded into 5 scales (−, ±, +, ++, +++), and the evaluation was carried out based on the number of individuals in each scale.

Table 2 shows the results of evaluation. In the group fed with diet containing high fat and high sugar (control group A), an image was confirmed in which fat accumulated in the liver to thereby become fatty liver. In the group fed with normal diet (control group B), such an image was not confirmed. In the gasseri culture group, an image was confirmed in which fat accumulation was suppressed.

TABLE 2 Frequency of liver fatty degeneration − ± + ++ +++ Control group A 0 0 1 4 1 Control group B 6 0 0 0 0 Gasseri culture group 2 2 2 0 0

Test Example 6 Suppression of Liver Neutral Lipid by Lactobacillus gasseri Bacterial Body Ingestion

(Preparation for Bacterial Body Powder)

A bacterial body of Lactobacillus gasseri strain SBT2055 cultivated in 20 L of MRS medium was collected by centrifugation (5,000 rpm, 4° C., 10 min) and washed twice in ultrapure water. Thereafter, the bacterial body was suspended in 250 ml of 10% lactose solution and then lyophilized. The number of living cells in the resulting lyophilized powder of the bacterial body of strain SBT2055 was 5×10¹⁰ cfu/g. (Feed Composition) 5% fatty feed (normal fat diet, NFD), 10% fatty feed (high fat diet, HFD), and 10% fatty feed containing 0.5% powder of the bacterial body of SBT2055 strain (HFD+LG) were produced by using AIN-76 feed as their base. The composition of each feeds is shown in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Feed Composition (% w/w) ingredient NFD HFD HFD + LG skim milk 20.0 20.0 20.0 casein 12.5 12.5 12.5 DL-methionine 0.3 0.3 0.3 α-corn starch 15.0 15.0 15.0 sucrose 37.2 32.2 31.7 corn oil 5.0 1.0 1.0 lard — 9.0 9.0 cellulose 5.0 5.0 5.0 AIN-76 mineral mixture 3.5 3.5 3.5 AIN-76 vitamine mixture 1.0 1.0 1.0 Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 — — 0.5 lactose 0.5 0.5 0.5 total 100.0 100.0 100.0 NFD (5% fatty feed (normal fat diet)). HFD (10% fatty feed (high fat diet)), HFD + LG (10% fatty feed containing 0.5% SBT2055 strain) (Animal Test) Seven-week-old male C57BL/6J mice (Crj:CD-1 (ICR) (n=30)) were preliminary fed for 1 week, and then divided into 3 groups (10 animals/group) by their weight and volume of their visceral fat. The groups ingested NFD (Group A), HFD (Group B), or HFD+LG (Group C) for 24 weeks. Thereafter, without a fasting period, the mice were sacrificed by collecting the blood from the aorta abdominalis to provide the liver. The resulting liver was lyophilized and used for the following test. (Measurement of Liver Neutral Lipid) 100 mg of lyophilized mice liver was measured in a test tube, added with 5 ml chloroform:methanol=2:1 (V/V) solution, and treated in an ultrasonic cleaning system for 30 minutes to extract the lipids. The tube was left at rest for 1 hour and then centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes at room temperature to remove its supernatant into a new test tube. The resulting pellet was added again with 2.5 ml of chloroform:methanol=2:1 (V/V) solution and treated in the ultrasonic cleaning system for 30 minutes to extract the remaining lipid. The tube was left at rest for 1 hour, and then centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes at room temperature. The resulting supernatant was combined with the first extract. The extract (7.5 ml) added with 1.5 ml of 0.1% KCl solution was hardly stirred and centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 20 minutes at room temperature. The lower lipid fraction was collected without contamination of the interfacial insoluble fraction, and the resulting sample was performed on a heat block which was set to 37° C. Then, the solvent was evaporated under nitrogen gas stream, and the sample was dried with a vacuum dryer overnight. The desiccated total lipid added with 4 ml of isopropanol was homogeneously dispersed by ultrasonic cleaning system and vortex. A part of the sample was diluted with isopropanol to make 4-fold dilution, and further diluted with water to make 2-fold dilution. On the other hand, the neutral lipid standard solution (300 mg/dl) was diluted with isopropanol to make 2-fold dilution (to equate the composition of the solvent). 20 μl of the sample was put into each well of 96 well plate and added with 200 μl of color reagent of the Neutral Lipid measurement kit (the triglyceride E-test, Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.), and then performed for 5 minutes at 37° C. Thereafter, the absorbance at 650 nm of the sample was measured by plate reader, and the amount of neutral lipid was calculated by the analytical curve made from standards. (Result) The results are shown in FIG. 1. The result indicates that the amount of neutral lipid (TG) in the extracted liver lipid was significantly higher in the HFD mice (Group B) than in the NFD mice (Group A). The amount of neutral lipid (TG) was significantly lower in the HFD+LG mice (Group C) than in the HFD mice (Group B). Significant difference test: Mann-Whitney U test. Between a and b there is a significant difference (P<0.05).

Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to Examples. However, the present invention is not limited to those Examples.

Example 1

The strain SBT2055 was inoculated in an amount of 3% with respect to a 10% reduced skim milk medium (heated at 121° C. for 10 minutes) and cultivated at 37° C. for 64 hours. The culture was lyophilized and then powdered to prepare an anti-fatty liver agent of the present invention.

Example 2

A yogurt mix was prepared by heating fresh milk added with 2% skim milk at 100° C. for 10 minutes and cooled to 20° C. After that, the strain SBT2055 was inoculated in an amount of 5% with respect to the yogurt mix and cultivated at 20° C. for 24 hours. The yogurt mix after the completion of cultivation was filled into a paper cup and cooled to afford an anti-fatty liver yogurt of the present invention.

Example 3

The strain SBT2055 was inoculated in an amount of 3% with respect to a whey medium supplemented with 0.5% yeast extract and 0.1% trypticase peptone, and cultivated at 37° C. for 64 hours. After the cultivation, a bacterial body was removed with centrifugation. The resulting supernatant solution was added with ice-cold ethanol so as to have a final concentration of 50% to afford a precipitate. The precipitate was dissolved in 0.2 N NaCl, and the above-mentioned ethanol precipitation was repeated further three times to afford about 500 mg of precipitate per (culture). The mixing of 1 g of the culture and 5 g of lactose was carried out, following which the resultant was formed into a shape of granules and dried to afford anti-fatty liver granules of the present invention.

Example 4

The strain SBT2055 was inoculated in an amount of 3% with respect to 5 L of MRS liquid media (manufactured by Difco Laboratories). After the inoculation, static cultivation was performed at 37° C. for 18 hours. After the completion of cultivation, the culture was centrifuged at 7,000 rpm for 15 minutes to afford an enriched bacterial body in an amount of 1/50 with respect to the culture media. The enriched bacterial body was then mixed in an equal amount with a dispersion medium containing 10% by weight of skim milk powders and 1% by weight of sodium glutamate. The resultant was adjusted to pH 7 followed by the lyophilization. The resulting lyophilizate was powdered through a 60-mesh sieve to afford an anti-fatty liver lyophilized bacterial powder of the present invention.

Example 5

According to the provision of General Rules for Preparations “Powders” in the Guide to Japanese Pharmacopoeia, 13th edition, 1 g of lyophilized bacterial powder of the strain SBT2055 obtained in Example 4 as described above was added with 400 g of lactose (Japanese Pharmacopoeia) and 600 g of potato starch (Japanese Pharmacopoeia) and homogeneously mixed to produce anti-fatty liver powders of the present invention.

Example 6

Skim milk was sterilized at 80 to 85° C. for 25 minutes, following which it was homogenized and cooled. The resultant was added with 3.5% pure culture of the strain SBT2055 as a starter and fermented at 37 to 40° C. for 16 hours to afford sour milk containing lactic acid in an amount of 2% (a culture in a skim milk medium). Then, the culture was cooled to 5° C. while a generated curd was pulverized, resulting in sour milk. Separately, a sugar solution containing an appropriate amount of acidulants, flavors, and pigments other than 15% sucrose was formulated, homogenized, sterilized at 70 to 80° C. for 25 minutes, and then cooled to 5° C. to provide a sugar solution. Thus obtained sour milk and sugar solution were mixed at a proportion of 35 to 65 to afford an anti-fatty liver sour milk beverage of the present invention.

Example 7

40 g of the lyophilized powder of the culture in the skim milk medium obtained in Example 1 as described above were added to 40 g of vitamin C or 40 g of a mixture of vitamin C and citric acid in the same amount, 100 g of granulated sugar, and 60 g of a mixture of corn starch and lactose in the same amount, and the resultant was mixed sufficiently. The mixture was put into a package, and 150 packages of anti-fatty liver nutritious and healthy foods shaped into a stick of the present invention having a weight of 1.5 g per package were produced. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of treating fatty liver in a subject in need thereof, comprising administering to the subject an effective amount of lyophilized viable Lactobacillus gasseri cells.
 2. The method of claim 1, comprising administering to the subject a food or beverage comprising the Lactobacillus gasseri cells.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the Lactobacillus gasseri is any one of Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 (FERM P-15535) and Lactobacillus gasseri SBT0274 (FERM P-17784).
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the Lactobacillus gasseri cells are administered to the subject orally.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the effective amount of Lactobacillus gasseri cells administered to the subject is 0.5 to 50 g dry weight per day.
 6. A method for reducing triglyceride levels in the liver of a subject having fatty liver disease, comprising administering to the subject an effective amount of lyophilized viable Lactobacillus gasseri cells.
 7. The method of claim 6, comprising administering to the subject a food or beverage comprising the Lactobacillus gasseri cells.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the Lactobacillus gasseri is any one of Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 (FERM P-15535) and Lactobacillus gasseri SBT0274 (FERM P-17784).
 9. The method of claim 6, wherein the Lactobacillus gasseri cells are administered to the subject orally.
 10. The method of claim 6, wherein the effective amount of Lactobacillus gasseri cells administered to the subject is 0.5 to 50 g dry weight per day.
 11. A method for reducing the amount of liver fat in a subject having fatty liver disease, comprising administering to the subject an effective amount of lyophilized viable Lactobacillus gasseri cells.
 12. The method of claim 11, comprising administering to the subject a food or beverage comprising the Lactobacillus gasseri cells.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the Lactobacillus gasseri is any one of Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 (FERM P-15535) and Lactobacillus gasseri SBT0274 (FERM P-17784).
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein the Lactobacillus gasseri cells is are administered to the subject orally.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the effective amount of Lactobacillus gasseri cells administered to the subject is 0.5 to 50 g dry weight per day. 